Like a beast, the waves roared and threw itself upon the coast. Spittle flew through the air and its many tongues licked at the great expanse of sand. The ocean then crept back wards and, having regained momentum, surged forward again with all its might. With it, it brought a multitude of debris. A smoothed log, white as bone, some seaweed harvested from the ocean floor and an empty rum bottle, fallen from some pirate’s hand. Above it all, a whice that was a grey as the sky it flew in, swooped down over the breaking waves. What could have possibly been a smile, twinkled in its eyes as some of the spray that was flung from the beast’s mouth, fell over its feathers. Another whice appeared, surfing the air currents that the ocean carried. Together they danced for they had never seen the ocean before. These two which played over the sea weren’t the only birds to appear that evening. Another two flitted about the re-furbished wreck of a ship. Drawn by the sound of music and lights that shone under the pavilion, they darted about the framework, simply investigating this newfound thing. To the patrons of The Mad Queen, the whice were simply a flicker in the corner of their eyes, a shadow over the coverings or a flash of yellow and red. Tantalizing, but never staying still long enough for their beauty to be appreciated. Far from beauty, three black whice were plaguing the buildings of Old Rose Harbour. The perched along a washing line, where some poor fool had forgotten to bring in his clothes. Now they hung solemnly, damp from the drizzle that this month so often brought. Individually, the whice over the ocean, the dancing duo over the tavern and black trio from the washing line, could all mean nothing. But together, they announced the arrival of yet another traveller to the town. A traveller who brought whice wherever she went.

Llian Creek was huddled under a heavy blue cloak, fighting off the cold that the night was soon to bring. A tired kenser dragged her and her wagon along, occasionally shaking its head when the odd drop of rain clung to its nose. The lights of The Mad Queen shone like a beacon, the girl’s savior. She leaned forward in her seat, parting the rump of the beast fondly. “Not long now,” she told it. They had faced a long journey, Finiss and her. From the outskirts of Vienda that had made the lonesome journey, stopping whenever they could to buy supplies with what precious money they had. But now the witch and her motley crew had arrived in what was to hopefully become their new home. As the tavern loomed ahead, Llian felt it was time to make preparations. She pushed the cloak off her shoulders and slipped a gloved hand under the collar of her blouse, fumbling blindly. However desensitized her fingers were in the leather gloves mattered not, for they soon closed under the strap that hung from her neck. It was thin leather, fraying badly along the edges. It was obviously a cast off from a larger piece (perhaps the gloves?) but it did its job. It held a wooden whistle that, when pressed to her lips, gave a harsh cry. The grey whice from the sea abandoned their play and came to her call. From the tavern, the dance was ended but they swooped over the witch’s head, wings outstretched. And, finally, shaking water from their wings, the family of three flew down from their perch and back to their master. Along the roof of her wagon, Llian had placed a single raised bar, of which its purpose had seemed unclear. Now, the whice perched upon it, the bar clearly a roost. Mindful of her skirts, Llian dropped down from her seat. She raised her arms over her head and stretched, pulling her shoulders back. She had been stuck in a sitting position for awhile now and it was good to finally move again. Once satisfied that all the cricks had been worked out, she turned her gaze to the roof and quickly lost her smile.

Rather than sitting nicely with his family, a young black whice had taken to the skies again. She growled through her teeth, watching the bird steadily. While the journey to Old Rose Harbour had killed all of his siblings, this one whice survived. No matter how many days he went missing for, he always found his way back to her. This could be seen a great trait for a pet but what Llian really wanted was to train this one bird and he seemed unable to understand anything she taught him. He was the cause of doubt that made her think of returning home to the tribe and becoming a fortuneteller or even a sewer. Given the chance, she would happily throw him into the jaws of bander wolf just so she didn’t have to put up with the daily turmoil the bird brought with him. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath to steady herself and opened them again.

“Come here you little toft,” she cooed with as much as enthusiasm as one could master in such a situation. She held her left arm, bent at the elbow. Like her other arm, it was gloved from the elbow down in something that was meant to resemble a gauntlet. Her thumb and finger were pinched, as if clutching a treat of sort. This was another for the whice and it abandoned its vulture-esque circle and landed onto her arm. When no treat graced him, he went to take off but found his legs clutched in his master’s free hand.

“No you clocking don’t,” she spat through its flailing feathers. A length of leather was procured from a pocket in the cloak and, with well-practiced hands, looped through the jesse on his ankle and through a buckle on the glove. He was forced to resign himself with enough room to move from her arm to her shoulder.

“Look,” Llian told him, as she pushed him back onto her arm. “I don’t like you and you don’t like me.”

She moved to the back of the wagon, checking the doors were locked. “But so help me, if you don’t behave I’ll serve you up to the first kov I meet as a rare wick delicacy.” She met it eye to eye. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Tsuter,” he replied. This was received with a small smile on her part. She would have to watch herself around him if she was going to sell him.

“Okay. Let’s get this show on the road. If you work with me, I’ll give you some table crumbs.” Fortunately, this prospect was alluring enough and he didn’t protest as Llian awkwardly coaxed Finiss into a more sheltered spot and proceeded to jam driftwood under the wagon’s wheels. Hopefully that would deter any thieves from taking it, not that she really had anything worth stealing. For the rest of the whice, however, she decided tying them to their perch would only invite criminals to take them. “Be good darlings,” she told them, blowing each a kiss. “If someone strange comes along, take off alright. Have fun.” They stared blankly and she frowned. I really need to make some friends, she thought, any longer talking to these birds and I’ll be that crazy whice lady bochi talk about.

Hands clutching at her white and blue skirt, as she did when she was nervous, she crossed the gangplank and onto the covered deck of The Mad Queen. The warmth was a blessing to her skin. Her cloak did not offer much warmth and her white blouse and peach corset offered even less. The sound of music, the hushed voices and fragrant voices filled her with a deeper warmth. She had grown up surrounded by her family and now that she was alone, the absence of people was starting to drain her. Suddenly, she felt refreshed. There was a rosiness to her dark olive cheeks, a bounce in her step. She didn’t even notice that two of her whice had returned to their show again. Petticoats rustling, she moved through the crowd and down into the hold where she knew the bar was located. The whice on her arm strained occasionally (she was thinking about calling him toft) but was learning his place. Now all she needed to top off her happiness was a drink. If she could afford one was another question. Perhaps a bat if her almond eyes or a game of cards would be enough to get her what she desired.

As usual, the Queen was busy. Crawling with its typical mixed patronage—a strange assortment of those kinds of criminals who actually looked as though they could afford the nicities of the place and an impressive smattering of those pirates and thieves who simply pretended that they could, all intermingled a handful of travelers—there was hardly an open table. A handful of spots at the bar were without patrons, though at least one of them was next to a customer who'd obviously had that one too many.

In one of the corners, near the prow of what would be the ship that made the body of the tavern, a rowdy game of cards was already under way, complete with a small audience who appeared interested in placing bets.

Most of the room, however, was simply full of drinking, eating, and loud talk ... not all of which was proper, of course.

Aye was tired, but after that whole Dawn finding event earlier on in the day, she felt she deserved to have fun. She was watching people play cards, enjoying hearing other peoples bets. She wanted to throw bets out too, but wasn't sure if she wanted to risk a beating when the others realized she couldn't pay up.

She yawned and turned to look at the door, just when a pretty wick woman walked in, and Oh! Was that a whice?! It had been a little while since she had seen one of those.

The girl ducked her way out of the group of people, trying not to bump into anyone and get them mad. She found her way over to the woman, and nodded once in greeting.

"Hesta, m'names Aye! Whats yers, an' yur whice's?", she asked, eyeing the pretty bird and grinning.

Llian, like many others, was watching the card game in the corner but from afar. From the looks of the patrons of "The Mad Queen" she felt by placing herself purposely in a crowd was just asking to be pick-pocketed. Any intelligent theif could see her skirts were heavier on one side, alluding to the presence of a hidden pocket. He would just need to brush against her, mutter "epaemo" before making off with a considerable length of leather straps and her loose change. The witch grimaced at the thought and her whice nibbled on one of her earrings. She was just contemplating risking a bet when a small girl appeared beside her, grinning madly. The yellow eyes and dyed hair reassured her that this girl was a witch and she returned the smile. It didn't matter that the girl, Aye she called herself, looked quite young. She hadn't had a conversation in ages and talking about whice was her favourite pasttime. They were endlessly fasinating to her and it gave Llian great enjoyment to see her whice appreciated. Even if it was the black beast that was with her this evening."Hesta! My name is Llian, Llian Creek."
"And this," she added, stroking down her whice's feathers," Is Toft."
The black bird gave a harsh caw and adjusted his grip of her shoulder. The claws scratched at her skin through her cloak, causing her to wince. "Of course," she muttered darkly," He's only called that because of his personality but hopefully I'll sell him soon."

She grinned wider at the whice, they were always so shiny! She wanted to pet him, but wasn't sure if that would be good or not, maybe the woman was training him, or maybe he bit people. "Junta, teh both o' yeh!" she said. "Llian Creek, eh? Pretty name." She smiled at the woman. "Toft too, where' he get 'is name? He steal things or run away alot?"

She looked back over at the card game, still interested in the bets, she wondered who was winning. "Oh I'm sure you'll be able teh sell 'im, haven't seen many whice in Old Rose, people should pick 'im right up." She smiled and looked back at the whice.

A rosy hue crept across Llian's cheeks at the compliment towards her name. To distract herself, she shrugged her shoulders and nudged Toft down to gloved lower arm with her right hand. It was obvious to anyone that Aye had a clear interest in him and, upon hearing the familiar term that was always applied to him, he leaned forward and croaked. His owner smiled and ran the back of his fingers down his glossy back. "Oes, he's always runnin' off and never returning." She held her arm out to Aye and nodded with her head to Toft. "You can pat him. He won't bite."

She looked over Aye to where the card game was continuing. She was unsure of the rules on betting and whthere they differed from the ones she had been taught. At the young witch's comment, she raised an eyebrow in surprise. Yes, she wanted her business to succeed but she had been hoping that there were some other breeders or trainers in the harbour she could talk to. A question rose to her mind. "Aye, you seem fair young. How long have you been here?"

She gasped excitedly and reached out to slide a finger down Toft's back, she loved whice, they were so cool. "He seems too sweet teh be runnin' off an' stayin that way, must be hard teh find 'im..." She said, wondering how one would find a missing whice.

She raised an eyebrow when the woman asked her question, and thought back to when she had first arrived in the harbor. "I, two weeks maybe? Not sure when I first got here." She shrugged. "Why do yeh ask, Lli?" It seemed she had come up with a nickname for yet another person.

Toft's treatment towards Aye confirmed that the bird was indeed evil. On the rare ocassions that he had sat still long enough to be touched, he had squirmed and often nipped at Llian's fingers. To her surprise, he stretched his neck out and ruffled his feathers, permitting Aye to scratch him if she so desired. Llian narrowed her eyes.
Like the young witch said, Toft was certaintly hard to catch (hence the name). It was only be some miracle that she fooled him this evening into landing on her arm. If he really didn't want to be caught he would of spent two days flying throught streets antagonising alley cats. She had long since given up chasing him after she spent two hours running through some farmers field. "I would probably have better luck catching a hatcher," she said," But he always comes back once he's bored or can't find food."

So she's relatively new to town as well, Llian thought. I wonder where her family is. A tavern doesn't seem the place for a little girl. She gave her a warm smile in both reassurance that the question meant no harm and also in amusement at the nickname. "Ne reason. Just curious if you were born here. I'm wick born myself, a spoke."

Aye held back a giggle as Toft poofed out his feathers, scratching the back of his neck gently. "Oes, food's a good thing, teh any kind of animal." She nodded as she said this, glancing at the card game and then back at Llian.



Aye smiled and nodded, "Oes, me too! I was born in Surwood Isle, durin' the festival. I jus' came from Dorhaven, both are my homes.", she looked vaguely sad as she was talking about Surwood, but she didn't seem notice. "I'm out travelin' by m'self at the moment, alone in the harbor.", she pointed at her chest with her thumb, looking proud of herself. "But I'm plannin' on travelin' back teh Dorhaven soon."

Speaking of food, Toft nibbled at Aye's fingers, searching for a treat in reward for his abnormally good behaviour. Afterall, he had seen this done many other times with rest of the whice. Whenever they did something good they got food, so why shouldn't he? Llian sighed at his behaviour and dug into her pocket for the crumbs that lined it. She held out to him the tiniest piece of crust pinched between her thumb and forefinger. She clucked her tongue to draw his attention and the whice then took to nibbling her gloved fingers instead. "He really likes food, more than what's normal."



There was only one wick tribe where spokes called Dorhaven a home and that was Yellow Eye. A big grin spread across Llian's face in excitement. She only half-registered Aye's comment on travelling alone in the harbour and didn't even hear the last comment. "Are you a Yellow Eye?" she blurted out. "'Cause I am and my fami, we were in Dorhaven but we left see, 'cause of the massacre and then I came here and there's lots of Yellow Eye here right? What with trade and all." She nodded eagerly as she said this. The only thing Llian loved more than whice was her family, however annoying they happened to be. But that was the thing about families, you couldn't choose them.

Aye laughed as he nibbled her fingers, hoping he would be gentle, and glad when Llian gave him food. "I jus' so happen teh like food more than--"

She stopped short, a dazed looking expression crossing her face. She then smiled, and nodded, "Oes oes, I'm a Yellow Eye, even my eyes," she pointed to then briefly, "an' in the harbor, yer the first Ive met!", she said, holding her hand out to Llian. "Junta to a fellow Yellow!" she giggled at her rhyme.

Completely forgetting about the poor whice which was tied to her left arm, Llian clasped her hands to her chest. Toft's perch suddenly went from horizontal to veritcal, causing a large amount of both panic and disoreintation. He spread his wings and leaped forward, taking flight. The strap held as it was designed to do, jerking his ownner into realisation at what she had done. She was so excited that the gesture had been automatic. "Vrunta!" she hissed, more at herself than Toft. The bird, unable to gain height, was now beating madly at the air in an attempt to hover. This was impossible and instead resembled a blur of black and the flash of talons as he tried to grasp at everything near by. Anybody who happened to be standing close, including Aye, was subjected to what could only be called a rabid attack by Toft. "Epaemo," Llian cried as she lunged at the bird. She managed to grab his body and immeadiately held him against her chest. Blinded by his still flapping wings, she struggled to pin his wings down against her chest and under one hand. Her right hand, and the only one free at that, was used to cover his eyes. With sudden darkness came sudden calm to Toft and Llian was left clutching the limp (but alive) bird.
She bit her lip and glanced up at Aye. "Well..dat was embarrassing," she murmured. At least they would be able to find an empty seat. Surely no one would want to remain next to the two witches after that scene.

"Wo chet!" Aye dodged out of the path of the flying talons, and tried to stay standing as well.



Aye laughed, "Oes, I would say so. Funny though...", She smiled and looked around again, maybe a table had cleared up, it would be nice to sit down. Of course, people in Old Rose were used to a lot worse than an out of control bird, so possibly no one would even care.

"Wild one, isn' 'e?" She giggled at the whice. "Did you bring 'im with yeh all th'way from Dorhaven?"

Llian apologised again as she gently, yet awkwardly, shifted the whice on to her left arm. She was wary about uncovering his eyes in case he began to panic again but as she moved him, he squirmed with impatience and nipped at her hand. "Fine," she whispered, grimacing partially in pain and annoyance. She gave in and removed her hand, shaking her fingers lightly to drive away the sting from the bird's bite. The leather of her gloves was thick but not thick enough to take away the pain that came from an angry whice bite. She held Toft away from her, glaring at the bird. He only glared back as he preened his feathers.



" 'E's a terror," she grumbled. Although her expression was mainly one of annoyance, the frown did lift when she recalled the journey from Dorhaven. "Bred him meself in Dorhaven. His parents are far nicer and his sister was lovely. Sold her before I left." She attempted to reconcile with Toft but he tossed his head when she went to stroke him. She sighed. "I have six other whice." And all far more behaved than him. Perhaps I'm just not dat cut out for being a trainer. The card games going on were becoming more and more alluring but Llian Creek wanted to be something more than a con artist.

"Six?!" Aye was amazed, she had seen people with more than one whice, sure, but six?! That was a lot of whice to take care of, she would lose her mind if she had to chase after six of them, and remember to feed each one every night, and what if they fought? They would have to be kept in separate cages!

She shook her head, "Wo chet, Lli, how do yeh do it?", she laughed loudly. "Did he an' 'is sister get along? Seems like he'd be mean." She shrugged. If he was badly behaved, it was believable that he would cause trouble with other birds. "I once wanted a whice, my Aunts wouldn' let me have one, said I caused too much trouble, an' I wouldn' take care of it. What'd I go an' do? I caused even more trouble.", she smiled fondly at the memory, she was such a hassle.

The bar. A place to relax, kick back, and have a good laugh. Learn the local news. Play a good game of cards. Win a bet or two. Or perhaps try to pick a pocket. "Hehehe.... Let's see if I can get a sucker or two today." Zzan was pleasantly happy today. The bar seemed really full today and that meant good business for him. With the crowd around it meant he had a good chance of picking a pocket but also increases his chance in failure. With all the wandering eyes around he had to be careful. Had to pick someone who was either distracted or talking. If they weren't paying attention, was all the better for him.

Zzan squeezed his way through everyone, keeping an eye out for someone to pick. He couldn't find a reasonable person. Everyone was busy but they were in groups. Groups were bad business for pickpockets. One against a bunch is never good odds in any case. Something quickly caught his attention though. A flutter of wings could be heard from a few feet away from where he was. He moved through more people to see two girls and a whice. One of the girls was gripping the whice tightly. Zzan wonder what had happened but that didn't matter much. They were the perfect targets. Zzan didn't really care that they were kids, he needed money or something to keep him going. He slowly moved closer to the girl next to the whice. She seemed interested in the whice enough to not notice. When he got close enough, about a foot from her, he turned his back to her. Turning his head over his back, he examined her to see if she had anything of interest. Zzan was close to biting his lip, hoping that neither one of them would notice him.

(( Sorry for the bit of a wait ))

It was only the tone of Aye's voice that stopped Llian's face from falling. Had Aye sounded surprised or shocked, she would of become quiet as she did when she was depressed. "Six," she repeated, more to herself, as she nodded. It did sound insane. Two whice, maybe, but six living out of a caravan? She truly was mad and the doubts were not going away. In front of Aye, she kept a brave face. Despite all the trouble that the birds were, they were her feathery little bochi.



She stroked Toft's head as she spoke. He wasn't as interested after the past treatment but allowed the petting anyway. "It's a fair mant manna work. 'E is the worst. Mean to his sister. I was sad to sell her but it was peaceful after."
"Naughty, ent you?" she cooed to him, tickling his chin. He made a coughing noise which could possibly have been indignation, or, the sound of a whice gagging.



This drew a laugh from Llian and she shook her head. "I can imagine."
The whole time Llian and Aye had been speaking, she failed to notice Zzan come closer or his interest in them. She had long since given up watching the people in the room. All she could do was be aware of where her pockets were and who was close to them.

"An' even after i caused all that trouble, they still didn't let me get one.", now she was just bragging about her trouble making abilities, but it wasn't like she had much else to talk about. She looked back at the card game, there were plenty of people watching so she didn't think anything of the wick boy with his back to her, he was just one more person in this crowded bar.

She shook her head and looked back at Llian, "Tha' game over there?", she pointed at it as if it were one of many games, instead of the only game in the room, "I keep wantin' teh bet, yeh know, get me some ging, but I ent got anythin' teh bet with. So I've been thinkin' about bettin', but not wantin' to.", she frowned at this. "I do kinda want to, yeh think it'll cause a fight in here?", from Ayes facial expression, it was visible that Aye thought this would be fun, and it was long overdue for her to cause trouble.

Zzan was glad they had no interest in him. Seems like he was in the clear. However, he still had a problem. He couldn't see anything on the pair that seemed valuable. He would have to wait and see if a better opportunity would present itself. He started to listen in on their conversation though. Joining the conversation might make it easier for him to get his hands on something.

Llian was starting to get the feeling that Aye's sole occupation was trouble-maker. She looked to the game the young witch had pointed out, recognising it as the one she had noticed earlier.



"I'm not so sure what the rules are for spectators betting," she told Aye," But I know that whoever is taking the bets will want something and that could be anything." She recalled the annoyance she had felt when she herself had been ripped off in a card game by a drunken natt. Fortunately, back then she had three older brothers by her side. One was more inclined to pay up with three kovs looming over you. Whether a similar thing happened in "The Mad Queen" was not something Llian wanted to find out.



The look on the girl's face was concerning. It forshadowed a stupid decision which would lead to even more stupider actions which in turn would lead to someone loosing an eye. It meant trouble.
Llian's right hand strayed slightly to her hidden pocket. She had little money but maybe there was enough for Aye to satisfy her desire without getting into a fight. "It's my first day here," she told Aye, as gently as possible. "I don't want to be....well, trouble. I jus' want to sell whice."
While causing mayhem wasn't on her to-do list, earning money was.

The only thing Aye really had on her that was valuable were her bracelets, and possibly her earrings. Of course the earrings were made of glass, so they weren't very valuable. The bracelets, however, were silver, but they were tight on her arms, and took a few moments before she could get them off. The girl would have to have bigger ones made, maybe on her trip to Dorhaven she could ask for someone to make the ones she had bigger.

Her face fell when she saw Llians expression. The woman obviously did not want to fight, and when she said so that just made it even more obvious. Aye felt a little dumb, she hadn't even stopped to think about Llian. The wick woman might get hurt in a fight, and Toft, the whice she held, what would happen to him in a brawl?

She frowned, "Epaemo," She started, "I didn' even stop, I didn' think 'bout you an' yer whice here,", she pointed at him, "an' if yeh'd want teh fight." She turned to look at the game, and then looked back. "I chen that yeh don' want teh get involved in fightin', just be careful,", she leaned in a little, as if to say that this was important. When she did, the flap of her bag fell open. Zzan could see small empty bottles and a slingshot, there were other things in there but they weren't visible.

"fights break out here all the time, fer no reason half th'time. So watch who yeh talk to, its not hard to get into danger 'ere in th' Rose."

(( i hope that doesn't count as modding, the bag thing ))

(( I'm not sure. I've never been in a moderated roleplay before :o ))

Llian shook her head, causing strands of her black hair to fall across her face. She pushed them back but they simply refused to stay behind her ears and fell back down. She gave a small huff of annoyance. She was a practical woman and while Aye's loops and the hairstyles of the galdori population were fabulous, she never had the time or the creativity to come up with something so complicated yet marevellous.
"It's fine, really," she said. "Fights are fun and all but I don't want to get hurt." Llian stroked Toft's head. "And 'specially not him."



Her eyes fell to the ground as Aye said this. She was aware that the Harbour was possibly the crime capital and there were chances of being hurt but she simply hadn't, well, thought about it. She had already decided prior to arrival that she was going to live a respectable life. Now she understood why her brothers had laughed. "I have a knife," she said in a whisper. "And magic....if I'm really desperate." She looked at Aye, her eyes reflecting her concern. "Is it that dangerous? Fights and the like, just startin' for no reason?"